WASHINGTON -- A Federal Aviation Administration contracting program, initially hailed as a way to make the agency more efficient, was so poorly managed that it cost the government millions of dollars in overruns, according to a government investigative report and legislators who reviewed its conclusions.

The FAA has disbanded the program.

The program was designed to allow the FAA to obtain services faster and cheaper by using 142 approved vendors.

But the FAA ran into major problems shortly after the program's inception in 2002 because contracts were supervised poorly, many were not put out for competitive bids and officials did not set proper labor rates, according to a report to be released Monday by the Transportation Department inspector general's office.

The report describes a variety of problems, including the hiring of former FAA employees by contractors.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who requested the investigation, said it cost the government tens of millions of dollars.

"It's just outrageous how the FAA was not looking out for the taxpayers' dollars," he said. "Three words would sum this up: absolutely no accountability."

FAA officials said they disbanded the program months ago.

The report says the FAA did not set labor qualifications for contractors. One contractor charged the FAA $35 an hour for the work of an administrative assistant. Four weeks later, it called the worker an analyst and raised her hourly rate to $71.

The report says companies were eager to hire former FAA employees.

One offered a finder's fee for such workers, and 21 percent of its employees had worked for the agency.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said the hiring of former FAA employees by contractors troubles him.

"There is nothing wrong with hiring experienced people, but there is plenty wrong with hiring people and giving them a job they are not qualified to do," he said.